'I won't be back': Bank staff fail to help blind man with ATM struggle

Despite spending five decades as a loyal ANZ customer, 93-year-old Keith Leadbetter is moving on from his suburban branch after he received "rather poor" treatment from staff.

Keith will be the first to tell you, age is just a number.

"I go to Coles, I go to the newsagent, I go to the chemist, I go to the post office, I go to Kmart," he said.

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Living unassisted in his home of 24 years, he even continues to volunteer at Meals on Wheels.

"I cook, do veggies, dish up, serve up ... I work Monday and Friday, that's all," Keith told A Current Affair.

Leadbetter has the eye disease macular degeneration, but hasn't let it get in the way of his independence.

"I can still get around because of the outside vision I can see, but I can't see straight-on vision, it's just blank," he said.

For the last 20 years, he's been doing his own banking at the same ANZ branch in Queensland.

But his last visit left a sour taste in his mouth and put him off the bank for good.

"Recently they stopped tellers, so you have to do all your banking on the ATM machine, which I can't do because I can't see. I need help," Keith said.

The 93-year-old claims he waited for about 10 minutes at the branch, before he was finally approached by an ANZ staff member.

"I said I wanted some money, she said 'there's an ATM there that you can use yourself', I said 'I can't see, I have macular vision," Leadbetter explained.

Ushered to the ATM, he was told to insert his card.

"I said where do I put it, I can't see?," Keith recounted.

"She said in the slot up there, I said 'I can't see the slot'.

"She said, 'ohh', took the card off me, put it in the machine."

Unable to locate the keypad, Keith claims the staffer refused to help enter his pin number.

"She said 'my father has macular degeneration and he can use an ATM machine'," Leadbetter recalled.

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Fumbling his way through, eventually he was able to withdraw his cash - and with it, his ongoing business.

"I said 'thank you very much, I won't be back here again. I'll find another bank where I get friendly service'," Keith said.

"(I was treated) rather poorly, for a 93-year-old blind man.

"They could've done a lot more for me in a friendly manner, which they didn't."

Keith's son, Greg Leadbetter, was furious his dad had been stripped of his confidence.

"He doesn't often ask for help. When he does, you know he needs help," Greg said.

"The banks are only concerned with what profit they make, and they aren't that concerned about customers like my dad."

National Seniors Australia chief executive Chris Grice said banks should be investing in services that support older community members.

"They need to spend the money to make sure the older cohort are able to do their banking and they feel safe doing their banking," Grice said.

"Every bank has that responsibility and they should take it seriously."

In a statement to A Current Affair, ANZ said it was disappointed to hear of Keith's experience.

"We have spoken with him and his family directly to apologise," ANZ Queensland general manager Jackie Auf de Maur said.

"Unfortunately in this instance, we did not provide Keith with the support he needed.

"We will take the opportunity to remind our branch staff of the support we have available."

FULL ANZ STATEMENT

We are disappointed to hear of Mr Leadbetter's experience.

We have spoken with him and his family directly to apologise. All of our customers deserve to be treated with respect and empathy.

If a customer faces particular challenges or needs assistance to access our services, our staff have a number of options to ensure they can complete their banking.

This includes for customers who may have limited vision, or may not regularly use digital banking services.

Unfortunately in this instance we did not provide Mr Leadbetter with the support he needed.

We will take the opportunity to remind our branch staff of the support we have available to help our customers complete their banking, and reiterate the importance of getting this right every time.